THROWING ACTION
When I was a kid, we had an old tyre nailed to a tree in the backyard, and I’d go out and hit that tyre with anything I could get my hands on – a bat, broomsticks, a branch. I became a pretty good hitter in baseball, and when I started playing golf, I could hit the ball flush right away. Now I know why: Whacking that tyre taught me something called “the line of compression,” a fancy way of saying I learned to line up my arms to strike with power without hurting myself. Kids are better than adults at figuring out how to do things because they have fewer preconceptions. They’re all instinct and action. There’s nothing unique about that story. You, too, have unknowingly trained yourself to be a proficient ball-striker. Don’t get tricked into thinking the golf swing is a technical puzzle that you have to piece together from scratch. You can build your swing from simple moves you already know how to make. I’m talking about three in particular: (1) throwing a ball, (2) hitting with a bat and (3) using your body to counteract a pulling force – think of the game tug of war. You perform these skills without thinking about them, and they translate perfectly to golf. So instead of grinding over new movement patterns, tap into what’s already inside of you, and make that your golf swing. – WITH PETER MORRICE
top row ). That little lever system is the golf swing in miniature. Now take a golf club in your right hand only and make a short backswing, letting your wrist bend back just like you did when throwing. Then swing down and through, and let the weight of the club release your wrist ( above, bottom row ). That last part might surprise you, but of course you should release your wrist! It’s not a fault; it’s how you accel- erate the club into the ball. The simple
HROWING A BALL IS ONE OF the first skills we learn as toddlers. Why? Because it’s so easy to do. Take a ball in your right hand,
assuming you’re a righty, and throw it 10 metres. Here’s what you did: You swung your arm straight back and ex- tended your wrist, then you swung your arm forward and released your wrist to launch the ball. Get into your golf pos- ture and do it again, using your arm and wrist in exactly the same way ( above,
PHOTOGRAPHED AT LAS SENDAS GOLF CLUB, MESA, ARIZONA
66 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
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